Patriots by Position: Tight Ends

FOXBORO — As camp continues in Foxboro, our position-by-position analysis of the Patriots roster focuses on the tight ends.

The Returners

Rob Gronkowski – 8th season, Arizona

Matt Lengel – 2nd season, Eastern Kentucky

Glenn Gronkowski – 1st season*, Kansas State

The New Guys

Dwayne Allen – 6th season, Clemson (Indianapolis)

James O'Shaughnessy – 3rd season, Illinois State (Kansas City)

The Rookies

Sam Cotton – Nebraska

Jacob Hollister – Wyoming

The Skinny: A big question mark surrounding the Patriots comes at the tight end position. When healthy, Rob Gronkowski is one of the most dominating forces in the NFL. A full season of Gronk would make the passing game a two-headed monster, with teams having to zero in on both the tight end and Cooks. But, injuries have continued to plague Gronkowski's career. Last season he played in eight games and was lost to a lower-back injury, but he did enjoy predominantly healthy seasons the previous two years. The additions on offense will presumably help take some of the defensive focus off of Gronk, meaning he'll probably be exposed to less wear-and-tear on the season.

Gone is Martellus Bennett. In his place is Dwayne Allen, a veteran from the Colts. Allen hauled in six touchdowns in 2016 – just one fewer than Bennett – but earns his keep as a blocking tight end.

The Top Talk: Rob Gronkowski on getting back into football after last year's injuries:

"When we put those pads on I'm going to definitely be ready. I'm going to be ready to take hits, I'm going to be ready to play ball.

“I’ve been looking forward to [training camp] for a while now, for sure. I’ve been looking forward just to get back to football. I mean I’ve definitely had a longer vacation than a lot of the guys so I would say I’m probably the most eager to get going.”

David Souza is an intern in the Boston 25 Sports department. Follow David on Twitter: @DSouza4717

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